There once was a royal family who met with great misfortune. The King and Queen had two children, a boy and a girl. One day, the boy was chasing frogs in the palace gardens when a wicked witch appeared. The witch liked to play tricks on people, so she put a curse on the boy and turned him into a frog!
The King and Queen looked everywhere that day for their son. The last place he was seen was in the garden, so they desperately searched around the rose bushes, under hedges, and up in the trees. All they found were butterflies, bees, and frogs croaking on lily pads in the pond.
The Princess was now an only child. She didn’t really miss her brother, because she was only a baby when he was turned into a frog.
Six years passed, and one day she was playing near the pond with her favorite toy, a golden ball. As she tossed it, it fell and sank to the bottom of the pond. She screamed, “My ball! Oh, no! How will I ever get it back?”
She sat down and wept. “I’d give anything and everything I have if only I could get my golden ball back again.”
Suddenly, she heard a little voice coming from a frog: “Dear Princess, I can help you!”
She screamed at the frog, “You ugly talking frog. What could you possibly do?”
The frog responded, “I heard you say that you’d give anything and everything you have if you could get your golden ball back from the pond. I don’t want your valuable jewelry, fine clothes, or your expensive toys. I just want your friendship. If you take me to live with you in the palace and play with me every day, then I’ll get your ball.”
The Princess disliked the magical frog, but she desperately wanted her toy, so she promised to do all that he asked. The frog plunged to the bottom of the pond and returned, holding the muddy ball in his mouth. He spit it out at the Princess’s feet. She grabbed the ball and ran to the palace.
The frog called out, “Princess, you promised to take me with you! Come back!”
Without even turning around to thank the frog, the Princess ran even faster away from the pond.
It was suppertime the next day, and as the Princess opened her mouth to take a bite, she heard a strange noise, like someone walking in wet shoes: splish, splosh, splish, splosh. She put down her fork and almost jumped out of her chair when she saw what was at the foot of the table. It was the frog!
She had forgotten all about her promise. Angrily, she chased the slimy creature out of the room, screaming, “Go away and never come back!”
Meanwhile, the King appeared and inquired, “What’s the matter? You look like you’ve seen a ghost!”
The Princess explained everything.
Her father scolded her, “You should always keep your promises. The frog did a good deed, and you told him you’d be his friend. Now do it!”
He made the Princess go after the frog to invite him in, and she did, for she was afraid to disobey a King. She was quite grumpy as the frog sat right next to her and helped himself to dinner. “I’m so very hungry,” he said, as a long, thin tongue shot out of his wide mouth. His tongue wrapped itself around a morsel of cheese from her plate, and then he slipped the food down his throat. “Ahhh…” he sighed, “That was ever so yummy!”
“Disgusting!” she said out loud. After dinner, the frog asked her to lift him up and then go upstairs so they could play in her room. She didn’t dare disobey her father, so she grabbed the slimy wet frog and carried him out of the dining room. “He’s so ugly,” she thought. “Why did I ever promise such a thing?”
The frog stayed with her for three days and nights. The Princess grumbled and complained the whole time. On the morning of the fourth day, she was surprised to see a young boy in her room, a boy who looked a lot like her! He was playing with her golden ball. “Who are you?” she demanded.
The boy approached her and smiled. “I am your brother!” He explained all about what happened to him: “A witch cast a spell on me, and the only way it could be broken was if you, my sister, took me back to the palace, let me eat off of your plate, stay with you, and play with your toys for three days!”
The spell was broken, and the brother had come back to his sister and parents. The girl grew to love her brother. She nicknamed him, “The Frog Prince.” Every time she called his name, she remembered how different things would have been if she hadn't kept her promises.
Moral
Always do what you say you will do.
Objectives
Cognitive: The students will understand how important it is to honor promises. When a promise is kept, there are rewards. They also will understand that things may not be as they appear. Affective: The students will sympathize with the frog, and they will see that the princess is acting selfishly when she rejects him because of his appearance. They will rejoice when the spell is broken and the brother is reunited with his family. Behavioral: When the situation calls for it, the students will be able to state the moral—“Always keep your promises” —and apply it in classroom situations.
Read and Discuss the Story
When you are finished with the story, ask, “How would you like to be turned into a frog? What would it be like? Is there anything you might like about it?” (Get their imaginations stimulated!) You might mention the mythical wizard Merlin, who turned the young prince who would become King Arthur into many different kinds of animals, so that the future king would be full of wisdom about nature and life. Ask: “If you could be an animal, what animal would you like to be?”
When the excitement dies down, go on to say that this story is about the importance of keeping promises. Ask the students to tell you what a promise is, and why it’s important to keep a promise. Mention that the moral of the story is: “Always keep your promises.”
Ask the students if they enjoyed the story and why. Ask them if they were surprised when the frog started talking! Ask them how they felt when the girl was so mean to the frog. Say, “If the princess knew that she was talking to her brother who had been turned into a frog, would she have acted differently? Yes, I think we can agree that she would have welcomed the frog, because she loved her brother.”
Pose this question: “What if it wasn’t her brother after all? Would it have been all right then to treat the frog the way she did? No, she should have respected the frog and honored her promise to him. The princess didn’t like the frog, and therefore didn’t think she needed to honor her promise to him. Is it OK to break promises to people we don’t like?” Affirm that it is not.
Explain that, fortunately, the father behaved as a true king and told his daughter that her behavior was wrong. He made her keep her promise. What would a king be like who did not keep his promises to his people? What if he promised bread to all of his people and then did not give the bread? People would dislike him very much.
The Meaning of Integrity
Let the students know that when a person keeps a promise, that person is demonstrating something called “integrity.” Tell the students that integrity is when you say you’re going to do something, and then you do it. Write “Integrity” on the board in big letters. Underneath it, write “Words” and “Actions.” Put an equal sign between the two words “Words” and “Actions.” WORDS = ACTIONS Emphasize that words and deeds are the same in a person of integrity. A person of integrity does what he or she promises to do.
Clarify that the only promises that should be broken are promises to do something wrong. Tell them that an example of this is when a person promises they will “get even with someone.” This promise shouldn’t be kept. When anger cools and wise adults tell a child not to get even, the person need not think, “But I promised to!”
Another promise that can be broken is the promise not to tell when you’ve seen someone do something wrong. Explain that sometimes even adults ask children: “Will you promise not to tell?” A child may promise not to tell on an adult they see stealing or doing something they shouldn’t, but these are not promises that need to be kept. It is important to tell, even on adults, when they do bad things.
Promises to do something good, on the other hand, should be kept. Give an example: “Suppose you promise to play with someone. Then you decide you don’t want to. Should you play with that person? Why?” Remind students that people who keep their promises are trustworthy, and trustworthy people have lots of friends.
Conclude by telling them to remember this story when they are tempted not to keep promises. Mention that there are rewards for those who are able to show integrity. Point to the words on the board—“Words = Actions” —and repeat that this is what integrity is. Ask the students what reward the princess received for fulfilling her promise. Listen to the answers. Then affirm that she was able to get her brother back. Say, “Now, that’s a good reward, isn’t it? You may fight with your siblings sometimes, but you love them, don’t you? Think how many happy times they could have together, once he returned. It was worth it to keep that promise, wasn’t it? Keeping our promises is good to do!”
Questions
Define some of the vocabulary in the story, including: misfortune, appeared, desperately, valuable, slimy, morsel, and nicknamed. Once this is accomplished, tell the students to read the story and answer the questions on their own. Tell students that they may need to go back to the story and reread parts of it again in order to find the answers to the Questions. If students finish before the time is up—10 to 20 minutes—ask them to do the Exercise at the end. Have them write their answers to the questions in the Exercise.
1. What happened to the girl’s brother in the beginning of the story?
2. What did the frog do for the princess in the beginning of the story?
3. What did the princess promise she would do after he got the ball for her?
4. Why didn’t she keep her promise to the frog?
5. What did the king tell his daughter about promises?
6. What did the girl learn by the end of the story?
Keeping Promises
The girl kept her promise to the frog, even though she didn’t want to. Can you think of some promises you’ve made and kept? Was it easy or difficult to do what you said you would do? Tell your teacher and classmates about some promises that were hard to keep.
When the students are finished, go over the Questions and Exercise together. Listen to their stories about their own promises.
Next, ask the students if they can think of another story in this book that has a similar message. Remind them of the story “Faithful Francis and Loyal Linda.” Did Francis and Linda keep their promises never to leave each other?
Act Out the Story
If there is extra time, this is a good story to act out, because parts of it are funny and children this age love opportunities to do drama! Choose students to play the parts of the princess, the frog, and the king. Have them read with lots of expression. Coach the whole class first by saying, “How does a whining princess sound? How does a desperate frog sound? How does a stern king sound?” Listen to different students speak the lines of each character. Give as many students as possible a chance to play a part.
Another activity can follow, in which the students write additional dialogue to enrich the speaking parts in the story. Also, the students can illustrate different parts of the story. A frog wearing a crown is a delightful illustration for this story!
Reflection
The girl kept her promise to the frog, even though she didn’t want to. Can you think of some promises you’ve made and kept? Was it easy or difficult to do what you said you would do? Tell your teacher and classmates about some promises that were hard to keep.
From Discovering the Real Me, Book 4: The Heart of Goodness. For book orders, click here.
Comments
Share your experiences by clicking on the "Discussion" box at the top of this page and then clicking on "+ New Post." Your comments will appear below.
Story
Table of Contents
The King and Queen looked everywhere that day for their son. The last place he was seen was in the garden, so they desperately searched around the rose bushes, under hedges, and up in the trees. All they found were butterflies, bees, and frogs croaking on lily pads in the pond.
The Princess was now an only child. She didn’t really miss her brother, because she was only a baby when he was turned into a frog.
Six years passed, and one day she was playing near the pond with her favorite toy, a golden ball. As she tossed it, it fell and sank to the bottom of the pond. She screamed, “My ball! Oh, no! How will I ever get it back?”
She sat down and wept. “I’d give anything and everything I have if only I could get my golden ball back again.”
Suddenly, she heard a little voice coming from a frog: “Dear Princess, I can help you!”
She screamed at the frog, “You ugly talking frog. What could you possibly do?”
The frog responded, “I heard you say that you’d give anything and everything you have if you could get your golden ball back from the pond. I don’t want your valuable jewelry, fine clothes, or your expensive toys. I just want your friendship. If you take me to live with you in the palace and play with me every day, then I’ll get your ball.”
The Princess disliked the magical frog, but she desperately wanted her toy, so she promised to do all that he asked. The frog plunged to the bottom of the pond and returned, holding the muddy ball in his mouth. He spit it out at the Princess’s feet. She grabbed the ball and ran to the palace.
The frog called out, “Princess, you promised to take me with you! Come back!”
Without even turning around to thank the frog, the Princess ran even faster away from the pond.
It was suppertime the next day, and as the Princess opened her mouth to take a bite, she heard a strange noise, like someone walking in wet shoes: splish, splosh, splish, splosh. She put down her fork and almost jumped out of her chair when she saw what was at the foot of the table. It was the frog!
She had forgotten all about her promise. Angrily, she chased the slimy creature out of the room, screaming, “Go away and never come back!”
The Princess explained everything.
Her father scolded her, “You should always keep your promises. The frog did a good deed, and you told him you’d be his friend. Now do it!”
He made the Princess go after the frog to invite him in, and she did, for she was afraid to disobey a King. She was quite grumpy as the frog sat right next to her and helped himself to dinner. “I’m so very hungry,” he said, as a long, thin tongue shot out of his wide mouth. His tongue wrapped itself around a morsel of cheese from her plate, and then he slipped the food down his throat. “Ahhh…” he sighed, “That was ever so yummy!”
“Disgusting!” she said out loud. After dinner, the frog asked her to lift him up and then go upstairs so they could play in her room. She didn’t dare disobey her father, so she grabbed the slimy wet frog and carried him out of the dining room. “He’s so ugly,” she thought. “Why did I ever promise such a thing?”
The frog stayed with her for three days and nights. The Princess grumbled and complained the whole time. On the morning of the fourth day, she was surprised to see a young boy in her room, a boy who looked a lot like her! He was playing with her golden ball. “Who are you?” she demanded.
The boy approached her and smiled. “I am your brother!” He explained all about what happened to him: “A witch cast a spell on me, and the only way it could be broken was if you, my sister, took me back to the palace, let me eat off of your plate, stay with you, and play with your toys for three days!”
The spell was broken, and the brother had come back to his sister and parents. The girl grew to love her brother. She nicknamed him, “The Frog Prince.” Every time she called his name, she remembered how different things would have been if she hadn't kept her promises.
Moral
Always do what you say you will do.Objectives
Cognitive: The students will understand how important it is to honor promises. When a promise is kept, there are rewards. They also will understand that things may not be as they appear.Affective: The students will sympathize with the frog, and they will see that the princess is acting selfishly when she rejects him because of his appearance. They will rejoice when the spell is broken and the brother is reunited with his family.
Behavioral: When the situation calls for it, the students will be able to state the moral—“Always keep your promises” —and apply it in classroom situations.
Read and Discuss the Story
When you are finished with the story, ask, “How would you like to be turned into a frog? What would it be like? Is there anything you might like about it?” (Get their imaginations stimulated!) You might mention the mythical wizard Merlin, who turned the young prince who would become King Arthur into many different kinds of animals, so that the future king would be full of wisdom about nature and life. Ask: “If you could be an animal, what animal would you like to be?”When the excitement dies down, go on to say that this story is about the importance of keeping promises. Ask the students to tell you what a promise is, and why it’s important to keep a promise. Mention that the moral of the story is: “Always keep your promises.”
Ask the students if they enjoyed the story and why. Ask them if they were surprised when the frog started talking! Ask them how they felt when the girl was so mean to the frog. Say, “If the princess knew that she was talking to her brother who had been turned into a frog, would she have acted differently? Yes, I think we can agree that she would have welcomed the frog, because she loved her brother.”
Pose this question: “What if it wasn’t her brother after all? Would it have been all right then to treat the frog the way she did? No, she should have respected the frog and honored her promise to him. The princess didn’t like the frog, and therefore didn’t think she needed to honor her promise to him. Is it OK to break promises to people we don’t like?” Affirm that it is not.
Explain that, fortunately, the father behaved as a true king and told his daughter that her behavior was wrong. He made her keep her promise. What would a king be like who did not keep his promises to his people? What if he promised bread to all of his people and then did not give the bread? People would dislike him very much.
The Meaning of Integrity
Let the students know that when a person keeps a promise, that person is demonstrating something called “integrity.” Tell the students that integrity is when you say you’re going to do something, and then you do it. Write “Integrity” on the board in big letters. Underneath it, write “Words” and “Actions.” Put an equal sign between the two words “Words” and “Actions.”WORDS = ACTIONS
Emphasize that words and deeds are the same in a person of integrity. A person of integrity does what he or she promises to do.
Clarify that the only promises that should be broken are promises to do something wrong. Tell them that an example of this is when a person promises they will “get even with someone.” This promise shouldn’t be kept. When anger cools and wise adults tell a child not to get even, the person need not think, “But I promised to!”
Another promise that can be broken is the promise not to tell when you’ve seen someone do something wrong. Explain that sometimes even adults ask children: “Will you promise not to tell?” A child may promise not to tell on an adult they see stealing or doing something they shouldn’t, but these are not promises that need to be kept. It is important to tell, even on adults, when they do bad things.
Promises to do something good, on the other hand, should be kept. Give an example: “Suppose you promise to play with someone. Then you decide you don’t want to. Should you play with that person? Why?” Remind students that people who keep their promises are trustworthy, and trustworthy people have lots of friends.
Conclude by telling them to remember this story when they are tempted not to keep promises. Mention that there are rewards for those who are able to show integrity. Point to the words on the board—“Words = Actions” —and repeat that this is what integrity is. Ask the students what reward the princess received for fulfilling her promise. Listen to the answers. Then affirm that she was able to get her brother back. Say, “Now, that’s a good reward, isn’t it? You may fight with your siblings sometimes, but you love them, don’t you? Think how many happy times they could have together, once he returned. It was worth it to keep that promise, wasn’t it? Keeping our promises is good to do!”
Questions
Define some of the vocabulary in the story, including: misfortune, appeared, desperately, valuable, slimy, morsel, and nicknamed. Once this is accomplished, tell the students to read the story and answer the questions on their own. Tell students that they may need to go back to the story and reread parts of it again in order to find the answers to the Questions. If students finish before the time is up—10 to 20 minutes—ask them to do the Exercise at the end. Have them write their answers to the questions in the Exercise.1. What happened to the girl’s brother in the beginning of the story?
2. What did the frog do for the princess in the beginning of the story?
3. What did the princess promise she would do after he got the ball for her?
4. Why didn’t she keep her promise to the frog?
5. What did the king tell his daughter about promises?
6. What did the girl learn by the end of the story?
Keeping Promises
The girl kept her promise to the frog, even though she didn’t want to. Can you think of some promises you’ve made and kept? Was it easy or difficult to do what you said you would do? Tell your teacher and classmates about some promises that were hard to keep.When the students are finished, go over the Questions and Exercise together. Listen to their stories about their own promises.
Next, ask the students if they can think of another story in this book that has a similar message. Remind them of the story “Faithful Francis and Loyal Linda.” Did Francis and Linda keep their promises never to leave each other?
Act Out the Story
If there is extra time, this is a good story to act out, because parts of it are funny and children this age love opportunities to do drama! Choose students to play the parts of the princess, the frog, and the king. Have them read with lots of expression. Coach the whole class first by saying, “How does a whining princess sound? How does a desperate frog sound? How does a stern king sound?” Listen to different students speak the lines of each character. Give as many students as possible a chance to play a part.Another activity can follow, in which the students write additional dialogue to enrich the speaking parts in the story. Also, the students can illustrate different parts of the story. A frog wearing a crown is a delightful illustration for this story!
Reflection
The girl kept her promise to the frog, even though she didn’t want to. Can you think of some promises you’ve made and kept? Was it easy or difficult to do what you said you would do? Tell your teacher and classmates about some promises that were hard to keep.From Discovering the Real Me, Book 4: The Heart of Goodness. For book orders, click here.
Comments
Share your experiences by clicking on the "Discussion" box at the top of this page and then clicking on "+ New Post." Your comments will appear below.